White & Case Inks 440,000SF Lease at 1221 Avenue of the Americas

Global law firm White & Case has signed a 440,000-square-foot long-term lease and relocation for its new New York offices at 1221 Avenue of the Americas.

The lease, announced by landlord The Rockefeller Group today, covers the “top floors” and below grade space within the 2.5 million-square-foot building.

1221 Avenue of the Americas.

“White & Case considered many locations throughout Manhattan, and their decision to lease space in 1221 affirms the desirability of Midtown, and specifically the Avenue of the Americas,” said Ed Guiltinan, who represented The Rockefeller Group in-house along with a Cushman & Wakefield brokerage team led by John Cefaly, in a statement.

Mr. Guiltinan added that the property’s location “provides tenants many benefits and amenities, as well as numerous commutation options. This lease to such a prestigious law firm and highly-pursued tenant demonstrates the desirability of 1221.”

The law firm, one of New York’s oldest law firms, with operations in 26 countries, will expand from more than 300,000 square feet at The Durst Organization’s 1155 Avenue of the Americas into its new space in 2017.

Mr. Cefaly said in a written statement that the building continues to attract strong demand due to a lack of opportunities for contiguous space in midtown, along with the building’s “prestige, efficiency, location and amenities.”

The lease brings total new leasing activity at 1221 Avenue of the Americas to more than 700,000 square feet over the past 18 months, with new leases and renewals totaling more than 1.5 million square feet over the past 36 months.

The property was developed by The Rockefeller Group in the modern expansion of Rockefeller Center to the west side of Avenue of the Americas and designed by Harrison Abramovitz & Harris, the architects behind all of Rockefeller Center.

The building is interconnected through a concourse level to all of Rockefeller Center and seven subway lines and is among the largest buildings in Manhattan to achieve LEED-EB certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

A spokesperson for The Rockefeller Group declined to specify the floors the firm will occupy and the terms of the lease.